Body rubs, domination, fetish and role play, tantra and maybe a dinner date. If any of these are lacking in your life, an escort skilled in one or all of the above is available to help and surprisingly easy to find on the back pages of many weekly newspapers and on the internet.
Perhaps Gov. Eliot Spitzer was missing some of this when he contacted Emperor’s Club VIP, a self-described “female entertainment company”. Spitzer allegedly paid over $4,000 for four hours of “companionship,” But with his career now in shambles, he got much more than he bargained for.
On Monday, the FBI linked Spitzer to a prostitution ring that involved Emperor’s Club VIP. The investigation began when the IRS noted irregularities with Spitzer’s bank account. They thought they would find fraud but instead the money trail led to the prostitution ring.
How could that much money possibly have been spent? What does almost $5,000 get you? Strawberries-and-cream? A massage? Hours of conversation where you confess your wildest desires?
Many of New York’s 1,000 plus escort services have starting rates upwards of $1,000 per hour, according to magicyellow.com, a search engine for escort services. Every service charges on a sliding scale, with older, less intelligent or less “skilled” girls earning less per hour. The Emperor’s Club’s women were rated on a scale of three to seven diamonds. The seven diamond girls earned upwards of $31,000 per day or $3,100 per hour. During that time, the sky’s the limite. Spitzer, according to the FBI affidavit, liked things “you might not think are safe.”
Rendezvous are all-inclusive. Fees include transportation, meals and tip. Some, such as Tess Eloise, an independent courtesan based in New York, require patrons to abide by certain rules of etiquette.
“You must be freshly showered, be extremely well-groomed, smell nice and have minty fresh breath.” For $5,000, a customer can get Tess Eloise’s gold package, which includes “overnight ultimate pampering for 12-14 hours.” Or, if the client is not the type to keep secrets, $5,000 allows two hours with the client and his or her partner.
Escort services are not illegal, although soliciting prostitutes in your own state is a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine, community service and counseling. However, since the Mann Act of 1919, transporting a woman over state lines for “immoral purposes” is a federal offense. According to the FBI’s affidavit, Spitzer arranged meetings with prostitutes in Washington D.C. and Florida.
Spitzer, who became governor in 2006 after serving eight years as state attorney general, made it a point in his campaign to rid the state government in Albany of its dirty image. His slogan was, “On Day One, Everything Changes,” but just 15 months later, his constituents are dismayed with his salacious behavior. Despite the fact that he did not use taxpayer dollars to fund his escapades with “Kristin”, his prostitute from the Emperor’s Club, the general consensus is that “Client-9”, as he was identified in the FBI affidavit, has forfeited his right to office.
“All the people he was putting away because of corruption? He’s one of them now,” said Eddie Williams, of Brooklyn.